Gentle Reader, please welcome Clare P to our little assembly. Some time ago Clare wrote an essay on Alexia and I asked if I might showcase it here. Sadly it has been too long since I made that request, but I found it hiding out in my pending file and brushed it off. I hope you enjoy her offering, long as it has been in coming.

Without further ado I present unto you...

Ophelia and Alexia

by Clare P

Alexia from Gail
Carrigers’s novel Soulless, and Ofelia from Del Toro’s film Pan’s
Labyrinth, have a striking number of similarities. Not only are they
both undeniably rebellious but the common character they represent is
widespread throughout literature. I argue that this unruly character
they embody is so appealing to read about because they represent
someone people wish they could be—themselves. This familiar
disobedient character breaks the moulds that others have imposed upon
them and is self expressive and defiant, despite the consequences we
commonly fear.

1870s Parasol Fashion Plate via michaelmoonsbookshop tumblr

Alexia Tarabotti is
supposed to embody the perfect Victorian woman. The ideal 19th
century Victorian woman is to be conservatively calm, serious,
tasteful, educated (but only to spare her husband and family from
embarrassment), and was often considered a possession of the family.
Alexia has most certainly not conformed to what was intended for her.
Lord Maccon frequently complains about how mouthy and cheeky Alexia
is, which is undoubtedly not acceptable if one is to be the faultless
Victorian woman. One of the most important values imposed on Victorian women is the value of family; women were often married
young in order to start having children sooner. Alexia can be
considered the opposite of what these values put forth. Neither of
the two fundamental perfect Victorian women’s values of getting
married and having children are appeased by Alexia.

Alexia’s mother attempts to secure
one of these core Victorian women’s principles—matrimony, by
forcing Lord Maccon to take her hand in marriage. However, Alexia’s
dialog shows just how assertive she is. “I will not marry under
duress, Mama. Nor will I force the earl into such bondage. Lord
Maccon has not tendered me an offer, and I will not have him commit
unwillingly. Don’t you dare press the issue!” (Soulless, page
211). This quote reveals how assertive Alexia is and how marriage,
one of the values she should be pursuing, is not of the utmost
importance to her. On top of these already striking differences
between Alexia and the perfect Victorian woman, it is also subtly noted multiple times in the novel that Alexia is often kissing Lord
Maccon, although they only have a casual relationship. Such a thing
would be unthinkable to the truly perfect Victorian woman.

1870s Parasol Fashion Plate via michaelmoonsbookshop tumblr

Now that it is clear Alexia is not
conforming to the mould she was intended to, the novel further
emphasizes it by presenting her half-sisters, the Loontwill girls.
Felicity and Evylin are the blatant opposite of Alexia and flawlessly
fit the template of being the perfect Victorian women. “No one upon
meeting the three together would have though Alexia related to the
other two at all” (page 27). Not only do the Loontwill girls look
different but they are intellectually inferior to Alexia, like the
typical basic educated Victorian woman is. To further contrast
Alexia, her half-sisters are much more set on those core values a
perfect Victorian woman should possess—such as marriage.

Ofelia from Pan’s Labyrinth, like
Alexia, also has an idyllic mould already picked out for her. Because
she is a woman in Spain during the fascist regime, her role is to be
mature, obedient, and submissive, with the same core goals in mind as
Alexia, to be a child bearer and faithful wife. Like Alexia and her
character foils, the Loontwill half-sisters, Ofelia also arguably has
one—her mother, Carmen. Carmen can be seen as the ideal woman in
times of fascist regime. Although her origin qualifies her to be of
unequal status, compared to her new husband, Captain Vidal, her
demeanour, attitude and goals seem to match quite perfectly to those
of a principle woman in fascist rule. She follows orders from Captain
Vidal to move to the mill where he is located although it was not
advised to travel so late in the pregnancy for health reasons. “A
son should be born where his father is” (Captain Vidal, Pan’s
Labyrinth). Although unsafe for Carmen to come to Vidal it seems that
it was never considered the other, safer, way around—Vidal coming to
Carmen. Though this occurrence is seemingly minute, it reinforces
Carmen’s lack of say—she has no voice or worth, which is a common
view among women under fascist regime. Carmen is controlled,
oppressed and demeaned by Vidal and it becomes very apparent when she
attempts to tell a story of how Vidal and she had met, through her
now deceased husband who had made his shoes. Vidal cringes when he
hears her spill the story as it reveals her to be of a lower class
than him. “Please forgive my wife. She hasn't been exposed to the
world. She thinks these silly stories are interesting to others”
(Captain Vidal, Pan’s Labyrinth). Vidal undermines and arguably
humiliates Carmen yet she says nothing and continues to obey him.

1870s Parasol Fashion Plate via michaelmoonsbookshop tumblr

Furthermore, Ofelia’s rebellious
attitude is reinstated right from her first meeting with Vidal. When
greeting the Captain she refuses to put down her juvenile books to
offer him the correct hand to shake—and it is not tolerated by Vidal
who violently grabs her hand and informs her that the other hand is
appropriate to shake. From this scene we can gather that Ofelia is
not willing to conform to be the ideal women in fascist times—she
has a voice and an opinion and is not afraid to reveal it. Another
scene where we see Ofelia rebel from what she is supposed to be is
after she leaves the fig tree and returns to a bath, missing the
dinner she was anticipated to attend. Carmen informs her that the
Captain was very upset by her absence, and Ofelia smiles. Although
another diminutive incident it stands to reinforce that she is not
upset by offending her authority and is a genuine rebel.
Additionally, we see the differences between Ofelia and the ideal
women in fascist times when she continues to believe and pursue fairy tales. She is oppressed by her mother, who I argue is just
passing down the oppression she receives from Vidal on to her
daughter. “You're getting older, and you'll see that life isn't
like your fairy tales. The world is a cruel place. And you'll learn
that, even if it hurts” (Carmen, Pan’s Labyrinth). It is evident
that Carmen is trying to replace her personal traits of a blossoming
imagination, creativity, and a voice with seriousness, maturity and
obedience. Ofelia also refuses to call Vidal her father, despite her
mother’s wishes, “The captain has been so good to us... Please,
Ofelia, call him father. It's just a word, Ofelia, just a word”
(Carmen, Pan’s Labyrinth). While this is just one more outwardly
small incident it just continues to strengthen Ofelia’s attitude
and personality towards blindly following orders and rule.

Jennifer Orme’s essay on Pan’s
Labyrinth allows for an in-depth and accurate interpretation of the
film. I agree with her, the core notion of the film is disobedience,
and I think Ofelia underlines this theme of the film. She refuses to
comply with others' desires, even if she will have to bear the
consequences later, “Key to my reading of Pan’s Labyrinth is the
notion of disobedience: the refusal of characters to submit to the
narrative desires of others at their own expense...” (Orme, page
1). This notion of noncompliance is apparent throughout the film
whether that be through the fascist war that is taking place or the
fairy tale occurrences Ofelia experiences. Orme goes on to say
how this is a common motif throughout literature. I strongly agree,
disobedience, rule-breaking, noncompliance are all common among
characters of not only fairy tales but of literature in general. It
is because we as readers are intrigued by this rebellious character,
perhaps we wish to be more like them. I argue that there are
situations in everyday life whether that is school, relationships, or
work related situations where people often wish they could rebel-
break the rules or refuse to blindly comply with the request of
authority. “Indeed, it is often a specific disobedient act that
sets the tale in motion or continues it on its trajectory: Snow White
disobeys the dwarves and answers the door to the witch; Dorothy runs
away from the farm; Alice leaves her sister to chase the white
rabbit. In Pan’s Labyrinth disobedience is a primary theme that is
coded as positive, and even essential to survival” (Orme, 2). Here
Orme explicitly points out just how common the motif of rebellion
really is. This questioning and rebellion against the ideology of
what they are supposed to be is common to both Alexia and Ofelia and
it is what makes the so desirable to read about. Roger Clark, like
Orme, also successfully recognizes this blunt and common theme, “A
crucial part of Ofelia’s (and Alice’s) ‘‘finding’’
emerges from their questioning and interrogating of ideology and
orthodoxy, whether it be the iron grip of patriarchy and fascism or
the anarchy and absurdity of the Wonderland and Looking-Glass worlds”
(Clark, 2). Here Clark once again reinforces this idea of rebellion
and refusal to comply and once again, “Disobedience is an important
factor in fairy tales” (Orme, 2).

¨Princess Alexandra of Wales. Late 1870s. via carolathhabsburg tumblr

To conclude, I have recognized the
common character throughout literature who is rebellious, refuses to
blindly comply to authorities- even if they face consequences in
doing so and most importantly, does not conform to the mould chosen
for them. In comparing Alexia and Ofelia it becomes explicitly
apparent that they both represent this common rebellious character.
Whether they are refusing to comply to their mould of the perfect
Victorian woman or the ideal woman during fascist rule, they are both
undoubtedly rebelling against their imposed ways. I have argued that
the reason this character shows up so frequently is because they are
enjoyable to read about because people often face everyday situations
where they could be more like one of these character, they wish they
could break the mould that they are being forced into and reveal
their voice to their authority, however they don’t because of the
obvious consequences that would follow. Furthermore, Orme and Clark’s
articles further reinforce and embellish this common character motif.

Book News:YA Bibliophile says of Waistcoats & Weaponry: “I’ve loved seeing Sophronia’s character develop and simply cannot wait to see where she ends up in Manners & Mutiny! YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THESE BOOKS!!!!”

Quote of the Day:
“Lastly, tea—unless one is drinking it in the Russian style—should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tea lover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt.”
~ A Nice Cup of Tea (1946)